Why we must support 14 women determined to fight hate in Poland
These women won’t accept increasing hate in Poland – and they’re not alone. Racism and hatred are spreading, not just in Poland but elsewhere in Europe, and measures to restrict free speech and protest gatherings are making it harder for voices challenging this to be heard. But during the annual Independence Day march in Warsaw in 2017, when many far-right protestors gathered calling for things like a ‘white Poland’, 14 women refused to let it go unchallenged. They headed to the Poniatowski bridge to peacefully confront this hatred.